


Passing the Time During a Pandemic

by Missy1978



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, COVID-19, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hobbies, Mutual Pining, stay at home order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24611653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy1978/pseuds/Missy1978
Summary: Sandor and Sansa are observing Wintertown's 'stay at home' order in Sansa's new cottage. What will they do to pass the time?
Relationships: Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	Passing the Time During a Pandemic

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fluff about how Sansan would handle a stay at home order. My city just transitioned to yellow a couple of days ago and we're all trying to figure out what our new normal is. I hope everyone is staying safe.

**Today**

Sansa sighed as she looked at the knitted scarf, there were dozens of dropped stitches; she glanced up at a scowling Sandor Clegane "well, you're getting better" she said with a smile.

**March 2020**

Sansa sat in the passenger side of the truck and observed Sandor Clegane as he drove her, and all her stuff, north to Wintertown. He was a lifesaver, really her only true friend in King's Landing, she would miss him.

_Sandor and Sansa had known each other for about a year. Even though he was an employee of Joffrey's, really just a glorified bodyguard. Often, when Sansa, Joffrey, and a group of his friends would go out in the evening, Sansa and Sandor would end up being the only two left at the table while the rest of the group was up: dancing, drinking, drawing attention to themselves; whatever it was that people from King's Landing liked to do._

_After getting past their initial misgivings about each other: Sandor's scarred appearance and attitude and Sansa's prim and proper appearance and inclination to chirp whatever Joffrey wanted to hear; they became close friends. Sansa found that behind the snarl, Sandor had a wicked sense of humor and was definitely kind (at least to her), and Sandor found that Sansa often chirped what people wanted to hear, but as her eyes were opened to Joffrey's true colors, she had claws too. He called her Little Bird, his pet name for her; she called him Sandor, not Hound as everyone else did._

_Sansa had known her relationship with Joffrey was over by early March, and had come to the realization that what she really wanted to do was to return home; she almost immediately started to plan her move back to the north. She found a place online to rent, and sent out dozens of resumes and set up zoom interviews; eventually obtaining an entry level position to start at the end of March._

_Sansa had made the decision to just leave, instead of formally breaking up with Joffrey. She realized that it was the coward's way out, but she just didn't feel up to the scene that Joffrey would inevitably cause because she was dumping him rather than the other way around. Sansa figured that Joffrey would spend weeks complaining about what a terrible girlfriend she'd been, how awful she'd been in bed, anything he could say to convince himself he was better off without her. The good news would be, she'd already be gone when all this happened._

_All that was left to do was to give notice at her apartment and job, both of which Sansa left until the last minute possible, since both were tied to the Lannister and/or Baratheon families. Her apartment building was managed by a Baratheon relative and she worked for Joffrey's grandfather, Tywin. Her plan was to mail the letters letting them know she was leaving as she was on her way out of town._

_The flaw in her plans had come when Sansa realized that because she wasn't 25 yet, she wasn't old enough to rent a truck. To her dismay, her older brother Rob was not available to come down and help her either. Sansa had to make the difficult decision to ask someone in King's Landing to help her. Really her_ _only_ _option was Sandor._

_A week before her move Sansa had invited Sandor out for coffee, and laid out the entire situation. She was breaking up with Joffrey, quitting her job, moving home, starting over; and she needed his help. Could Sandor come with her to the rental company and sign to rent a truck for her? Of course she'd pay, but she needed his over age 25 ID in order to get the truck off the lot._

_Sandor took a sip of his coffee and considered her proposition._

_"I have a better idea" he stated "why don't we use my truck? We can load it up Saturday morning and I can help you move and be back home by Sunday night"_

_"Why would you do that?"_

_He shrugged "I've never been to the north"_

Bright and early this morning, he'd arrived with his dog Stranger, and his huge pickup truck. They made quick work of packing up the bed of the truck with her belongings. Fortunately, her apartment was furnished so her 'belongings' had consisted of her clothes, books, kitchen equipment, craft and sewing supplies and other small items she'd acquired over the past year.

By noon they were on the road for the 5 hour trip to the north and to the small furnished house in Wintertown Sansa had rented. Sandor planned to unload the truck, spend the night in Sansa's guest room using the sleeping bag he had packed, and he and Stranger would be back on the road by early Sunday afternoon.

A few hours later, as they made their way up the highway, they started to hear news flashes on the radio about the covid-19 virus. Cities and states were beginning to quarantine and businesses in the south were beginning to close.

"Sandor, would you mind if we stop at a store and get some food and supplies before we get to Wintertown?"

"Sure, why?"

"Everything might be closed by the time we get there, and we will need food for breakfast tomorrow."

They stopped at an all night supermarket about 20 miles outside Wintertown, grabbed a cart and made their way inside. The aisles were busier and the shelves emptier than Sansa would've expected for a Saturday night, but they managed to fill the cart pretty quickly; Sandor suggesting that Sansa get as much as she needed so she wouldn't have to bother shopping for a week or so.

They arrived at the small cottage just before sunset, but still later than they had hoped. Sansa grabbed as many of the grocery bags as she could and headed towards the porch, stooping to grab the front door key from under the flower pot on the step. Sandor and Stranger followed her inside, Sandor carrying the remainder of the grocery bags.

"Let me put the cold stuff in the fridge so they don't spoil, then we can start dragging stuff inside."

"Sure, I'll just put Stranger out back in the yard so he doesn't get in our way, it'll go quicker that way."

Sandor and Sansa were able to quickly unload the truck and get everything inside before it was pitch back outside. They stood surveying the huge pile in the tiny furnished living room.

"Well, at least I have a couple of weeks to put everything away, it's going to take time to get this place looking the way I want it to"

"Do you want to get started? I can help"

"No, not tonight; what else do I have to do while I'm waiting for my new job to start?" Sansa smirked "Are you hungry? I can make us some dinner"

"It's been a long day, Little Bird, why don't we just get take out? or go somewhere? you can show me your hometown"

"Okay, you win, I didn't feel like cooking tonight anyway, but I'm definitely making you breakfast tomorrow before you leave"

"Sounds like a plan, lets go"

Sandor and Sansa spent the next several hours at a nearby pub. They ate, drank, talked, laughed; Sansa could not remember the last time she had so much fun. It was such a shame that Sandor didn't live closer, she would miss hanging out with him. 

Arriving back at Sansa's new house, Sandor took Stranger for one last walk for the evening while Sansa dug through her boxes to find plates, cups and utensils, the coffee maker, toaster and a frying pan so she could make Sandor a proper meal before he left. She had just finished getting the coffee maker set up for the next morning when Sandor arrived back at the house.

"There's a nice park just down the street, with a dog run. Maybe you should get a dog now that you're home" he quipped.

"Maybe. I'll have to make sure I have enough spare time first. I don't know what my hours will be yet. Do you need anything before I go to bed?"

"No, I'm good. Goodnight Little Bird."

Sansa pulled Sandor into a tight hug, trying to communicate how grateful she was to him for everything he'd done for her today. As she loosened her arms to pull back, she rolled up on her toes to kiss Sandor on the cheek, but misjudged and caught him on the corner of his mouth. Blushing she stepped away.

"Goodnight Sandor, and thank you for everything" she muttered and quickly turned and walked to her bedroom. "See you in the morning."

Sandor stood in the darkened living room, looked down at Stranger, and touched the corner of his mouth " _fuck_ " turned and went into the guest room.

**__________________________________**

Sansa was already up and making breakfast by the time Sandor showered and dressed the next morning. He'd tossed and turned the previous night reliving Sansa's kiss, finally slipping into an uneasy doze around daybreak. He was already running later than he'd like, but he wouldn't give up having breakfast with Sansa, since it would be the last time he'd spend with her for a while.

"Good morning Sandor, I hope you're hungry, I made a lot of food."

Sandor grunted non-committedly and sat at the kitchen table. Sansa poured him a mug of coffee and slid a heaping plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of him.

"I hope you don't mind, I took Stranger for a walk this morning so I could check out the park and dog run. You're right, it is perfect, I think once I'm unpacked and settled in, I will get a dog; I'm sure I can figure out how to make it all work once I start the job.

Realizing he couldn't delay leaving much longer, Sandor quickly finished his breakfast and stood up and put his plate and utensils in the sink.

"I really need to get on the road if I'm going to get back before dark, thanks for breakfast, it was delicious."

Sansa frowned, but quickly relaxed her face to a neutral expression "Oh, of course; let me make you some sandwiches while you put your stuff in the truck."

"That's not necesa…."

Sansa shushed him "please let me"

Sandor nodded and went to the guest room to pack up his stuff. He didn't want to leave, he didn't like that he'd be so far away from Sansa and wasn't sure when or if he'd ever see her again. He was just coming to the realization what she really meant to him, and now it was over. He exited the house and stowed his bag in the bed of the truck and whistled for Stranger, who took his usual spot in the back of the cab on his blanket. 

Sandor heard the screen door slam shut and turned to find Sansa with a large bag, which she handed to him.

"There should be enough in there for you and Stranger until you get back to King's Landing. Sandor, I..I don't know how to ever thank you enough for everything you've done for me. Not only yesterday; but, you know, for everything. You will be the only thing I'll miss about King's Landing, please promise you'll come and visit some time" she looked up at him pleadingly.

"Of course I'll visit Little Bird, I..ooph" he was cut off suddenly as Sansa launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him squarely on the mouth. Momentarily stunned, Sandor eventually wrapped his arms around her waist and enthusiastically returned the kiss, tilting his head so they would fit together better.

Drawing away from his lips, Sansa pressed her forehead against Sandor's; grinned, then frowned "call me when you get back, so I don't worry."

Sandor turned and hoisted himself into the cab of the truck "Aye, I will" started the engine and backed out of the driveway, waved, and drove away.

Sansa waved until the truck was out of sight, sighed, rubbed her fingers on her lips, and went back inside to start organizing her new life.

____________________________

A few hours later Sansa had made a modest dent in the pile of boxes, but she was quite pleased with herself. She also started a list of things that she needed to purchase for the new house, right at the top was bookcases. When she opened the first of her several boxes of books, she realized there was nowhere to put them, so she pushed those boxes into a corner until later. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sansa figured it was her siblings _finally_ showing up to welcome her home, when she flung the door open she was shocked to see Sandor and Stranger standing there.

"Sandor, what are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did you forget something? I could have mailed whatever it is to you"

Sandor grimaced "I guess you haven't been watching the news" Sansa shook her head "King's Landing has closed its borders due to covid-19, I can't get home. All the hotels between here and the barricades are full, I didn't know where else to go. Is it okay if I stay with you until I figure something out?"

Sansa stepped aside to let Sandor in "of course"

Sandor and Stranger moved into the living room, and Sandor sat on the couch "Little Bird, I don't want to scare you, but we need to talk about what's going on on out there" Sansa opened her mouth to speak, but Sandor held up his hand. "I don't know how long we have before there is a 'stay at home' order for Wintertown, but before there is, we need to go to the store and stock up for a couple of weeks. We may not be allowed outside of the house."

Sansa stared at Sandor, her mouth slightly agog "are you serious? Is it really that bad?"

"I would hook up your television to show you, but I think we'd be better off making a list of what we need and getting to the store before the shelves are empty."

Sansa immediately got up and retrieved the list she'd been working on "I started a list of things I needed to buy, but I guess food comes before bookcases" she quipped nervously.

"Well, we might be able to do that too, I realized I need to get some clothes. I only have the stuff I packed for this weekend. I definitely need more than two pairs of boxers" he finished with an embarrassed smile.

An hour later Sansa and Sandor had a comprehensive list. They'd start by getting Sandor some clothes, then move on to the hardware store. Sansa had argued that it wasn't necessary, but Sandor insisted that he could build her some bookcases cheaper than buying them, plus there was other stuff she'd need from there anyway. Besides, Sandor quipped, he'd need something to do while he was here. Finally they'd make a run to the supermarket and try and get at least a couple of weeks worth of groceries. 

_________________________________

Sansa was overwhelmed. She and Sandor had spent the rest of the day at various stores working their way through their shopping list. Sansa had the most fun clothes shopping. Sandor obviously never had anyone shop with him before. He scoffed when Sansa suggested trying things on for size, stating that he knew what size he wore. Sansa laughed out loud when Sandor finally agreed and his 'normal size' was so big that he had to hold the jeans up so they wouldn't fall to the floor.

"Sizes are different in the north" was all she said, knowing that Northerners were traditionally larger than their counterparts in the south, and the sizes reflected that. 

Sansa was also pleased that she talked Sandor out of his color comfort zone of gray and black. She'd actually talked him into purchasing a red shirt, which Sansa was sure would compliment his dark hair and eyes. By the end, Sandor had enough new clothing for at least a few weeks. Sandor shrugged when Sansa questioned the amount he bought, commenting that he needed new clothes anyway.

At the hardware store, in addition to purchasing lumber to build bookshelves, Sandor made sure that Sansa had everything she needed for a basic tool kit; a hammer, plyers, screwdrivers, a wrench, nails, screws, and a level. Sandor also purchased a belt sander and circular saw for himself to use while he was building the bookshelves, rationalizing that he needed new ones anyway when Sansa asked him about the purchase.

The most tiring part of the day, however, was the supermarket. It wasn't as crowded as Sandor and Sansa feared, but Sandor had insisted on over-purchasing in case they were trapped in the cottage for several weeks. Lugging the bags into the kitchen all Sansa could think was that she was relieved she wouldn't have to shop again anytime soon, if what Sandor said was true.

"What would you like for dinner tonight? We've got lots of choices"

"Why don't you call your family to see if they want to meet us somewhere; if we end up sheltering in place, who knows when you'll get to see them again."

"That's a great idea, terrifying, but great. I'll give them a call once we put everything away"

Sandor enjoyed spending the evening with Sansa's relatives. He'd met Arya and her boyfriend Gendry several months ago when they visited Sansa in King's Landing and attended a medieval weapon convention. But this was his first time meeting Rob, who was just home from a business trip, which was why he hadn't been able to help Sansa move home, and his wife Talisa. After surviving Rob's third degree: how long had he known Sansa, how long was he staying, where was he staying? Sandor decided he liked the young wolf; especially since he seemed so protective of Sansa. By the end of the evening Sandor and the Starks were on their way to being good friends.

Tumbling back into the cottage about midnight, Sandor feeling good, Sansa definitely tipsy; Sandor insisted they make another list of things they HAD to accomplish immediately in case there was a quarantine. Top of his list was ensuring there was wifi in the house. They'd need it to keep track of what was going on outside of Wintertown in the coming weeks. Sansa agreed, declared that she was going to bed, hugged Sandor and kissed him on the cheek; walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Sandor smirked, shook his head, realizing how tough it was going to be living in such close quarters with Sansa now that he was finally admitting that he had feelings for her.

**April 2020**

Finishing up his morning sit ups, Sandor thought back to that evening he and Sansa had spent with her siblings, it was just about the last normal night they'd had. Within a few days covid-19 had reached Wintertown, and the stay at home order had been issued. With that, Sansa had also received a phone call that the start of her new job was delayed indefinitely. 

Fortunately Sandor and Sansa had enough to keep them occupied the first several weeks. All of Sansa's possessions were unpacked and put away, including all her books. Sandor had built four bookcases that now lined the living room wall and were completely full. Once everything was set up the way she wanted it; Sansa started sewing facemasks for herself, Sandor, her entire family; then to be donated to the local police station, nursing home and anyone else in town that needed one.

Sandor admired her dedication. He wished there was something he could do to help. He tried cutting out the patterns; but his big fingers didn't fit into the scissors and he'd made a mess of the fabric. Now, he spent his time exercising, walking Stranger, watching way too much television, and trying not to stare at Sansa too much as she sat hunched over her sewing machine.

Sandor sighed, he needed a new hobby. Working out and obsessing over Sansa was not the way to go. He wondered if Sansa needed anything else built, he knew that the hardware stores were still open. He could put on the ridiculous mask that Sansa had made him (why did she use fabric covered in birds anyway?) and go buy whatever supplies he needed today. He'd ask her at breakfast.

When he arrived in the kitchen, Sandor found Sansa skyping on her laptop with Arya. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down beside Sansa so Arya could see him.

"Where have you been Sandor? Sansa and I have been online for an hour already"

"Just doing my morning workout, I wish I'd thought to buy a punching bag and some gloves before everything shut down. Sit ups can only do so much."

Arya cocked her head, obviously thinking. "I bet we have some work out stuff in the basement that we can drop at the house. If we don't, Rob definitely will. What do you think?"

"I would love that. I could set everything in the garage. Who knows maybe I can even get Sansa to do something other than sew."

Sansa punched him lightly in the shoulder "hey! I do yoga everyday, besides not everyone is interested in over-developing their muscles. Anyway, I ran out of fabric yesterday, so I guess I'm done sewing for awhile."

"Great, then you can join me, maybe we can develop something other than your fabric cutting arm"

Arya watched the two of them argue with a smile on her face, when were they going to realize that they were falling for each other? Arya cleared her throat to get their attention "I'll tell you what, I'll have Gendry look around for stuff. We can drop it in the driveway later today. I'll tell Rob to do the same thing. We'll do a 'no contact' delivery, just like a pizza! I'm positive that Gendry still has the old punching bag he had before he bought a new one, and we have lots of gloves, Sansa you can learn to box!"

Sansa looked horrified, then slid her eyes to Sandor and smiled "well if I'm going to have to learn to do some of Sandor's hobbies, he's going to have to do some of mine!"

Arya laughed out loud "HA, good luck Sandor. I gotta go, I'll call you when we're on our way to drop stuff off" and the screen went blank.

"Why does the idea of learning some of your hobbies scare me Little Bird?"

"I guess you'll find out" Sansa replied with a wink.

**May 2020**

Sansa stood in the shower, letting the hot water roll off her sore shoulders. Lifting weights had been bad enough, but Sansa decided she really hated boxing; especially hitting the punching bag. She did have to admit though, she liked being 'up close and personal' with Sandor when they were sparring. Sansa had come to the realization a while ago that she was falling for Sandor Clegane. But, she was afraid to act on it, suppose he didn't feel the same way? Then they'd be stuck in this house, for who knows how long, feeling awkward. Why hadn't she realized back in King's Landing what a great guy he was? She felt so stupid and heartbroken. When this pandemic was over Sandor would have to go home and she would be here, five hours away from King Landing, alone.

Sandor was still in the garage finishing up his workout, waiting for Sansa to finish up in the bathroom so he could take a shower. She had been such a good sport about the boxing lessons. He knew it wasn't really something she enjoyed doing, but he supposed she felt that she owed him after some of the hobbies he'd had to learn the last few weeks. 

Baking had been okay, if nothing else he enjoyed the treats they made. He wasn't sure this was something he'd do all that often once he was back on his own; but at least now he knew how to bake a cake, or a dozen cookies if he wanted to. What he didn't like was the mess. Every time they made something the kitchen ended up covered with flour from ceiling to floor, and that hadn't been fun to clean up. 

Something he definitely wasn't going to do in the future was draw. Sandor and Sansa had spent an entire day in the backyard sketching. While Sansa's sketch of Stranger would be suitable for framing, his drawing of Sansa looked like it had been made by a three year old. Listening to the sweet sound of her giggle when he showed it to her, however, was worth his embarrassment at his lack of talent. 

Sandor sighed, he was going to miss this when he had to go back to King's Landing. The past two months, living with Sansa, had been the happiest time of his life. He wondered if he could start over here in the north. After all he wasn't even sure he had a job to go back to; the Lannisters had not been pleased when he had contacted them back in March to let them know he couldn't get back to the city to work. Since then he hadn't heard anything from them. Maybe they'd found someone else to 'guard' Joffrey's whiny ass. He'd be just as happy, no happier, if he had no reason to go back to the south. 

Sandor was just finishing up wiping down all the equipment when Sansa stuck her head in the garage to let him know that she was done in the bathroom and that the shower was all his. 

Sandor smirked at her "are you sore Little Bird?"

Sansa smirked back "oh, you'll pay tomorrow Sandor. My turn, my hobby" 

Sandor's eyes flared but he didn't respond, instead scooting around Sansa to get to the shower. He needed to get away from her quickly before he did something stupid, like kiss her, and ruining everything.

**Today**

Knitting!?! She had to get fucking kidding. After breakfast Sansa led Sandor to her craft room to show him what they'd be doing. How was he supposed to make those knitting needles work with his big fat fingers? Didn't Sansa remember the scissor debacle of a couple of months ago? This was going to go badly, he was sure of it.

Sansa patiently sat on the couch next to Sandor showing him the steps to get started. She had dug up some soft gray yarn that she was sure Sandor would like for a scarf, she hoped it would encourage Sandor to at least give knitting a chance. After showing Sandor how to cast on, and observing him as he knitted a couple of rows, Sansa turned her attention to her own project; a blanket for Sandor in his family's colors of black and yellow.

About an hour later, Sansa checked on Sandor's progress. Sansa sighed as she looked at the knitted scarf, there were dozens of dropped stitches; she glanced up at a scowling Sandor Clegane "well, you're getting better" she said with a smile. 

"Ugh, I don't know how you can say that Little Bird, this looks like shit!"

Sansa moved closer, and leaned over Sandor to look more closely at the piece, suddenly hearing Sandor's sharp intake of breath. "Sandor are you okay?"

"Yeah, uh, I'm fine"

Sansa looked up at Sandor, who was looking anywhere but at her, suddenly the wall across from the sofa was the most interesting thing Sandor had ever seen. "Sandor what's going on? Did you just smell my hair?"

"Uh, yea. Sansa, I'm sorry, but it's killing me to have you this close. All I want to do is kiss you, and I know that isn't the type of relationship we have, but I still want to; I have for weeks, it's all I think about, day and night." Sandor finished his diatribe and sagged back into the couch as if admitting his feelings had sapped all his strength.

Sansa listened to Sandor's speech in shock, he felt the same way she did? How had she not realized that? Why had they wasted so much time? With that Sansa plucked Sandor's knitting project out of his hands and smiled.

"Well Sandor, I think we need to rethink our hobbies." At Sandor's look of confusion Sansa pressed on "instead of torturing each other with our individual hobbies, maybe we should do something we both like."

"Something we both like?" Sandor repeated "Did you have something in mind?"

"Yea, kissing" Sansa responded as she climbed into Sandor's lap. "But, we might have to practice a lot to get good at it." As she raised her mouth to his.

Sandor immediately wove his arms around Sansa's waist and pulled her flush to him "aye, lots of practice" as he met her lips with his own. This was just as amazing as he thought it would be. He slid his lips from Sansa's, and kissed down her long neck and across her collarbone. She groaned and tightened her arms around his neck and wiggled more into his lap. Suddenly, both their cell phones dinged, indicating they had texts coming in.

"I wonder what's going on." Sandor commented as he shifted Sansa so he could retrieve his phone. "I can't believe it, King's Landing is transitioning to code yellow, they're ending the stay at home order, and opening their borders. I guess I can go back home." He finished dejectedly, sliding his eyes over to Sansa.

Sansa frowned, she wasn't ready for this to end. "Well, Kings Landing is opening, but we're still at code red, right? Doesn't that mean you would have to self-quarantine for 14 days if you went back?" At Sandor's affirmative nod Sansa continued "so it doesn't make sense for you to go back right now anyway. Maybe you should stay here until Wintertown transitions to code yellow, we shouldn't be that far behind King's Landing, then you can decide what to do."

"I guess that makes sense, what would we do while we waited?" Sandor asked slyly.

"I think that's fairly obvious, practice our new hobby; and once we get REALLY good at kissing we can move on to do something else" she replied with a smirk.

"I like that plan Little Bird" Sandor growled "lets perfect our kissing, I'm anxious to move on to _other_ things" he finished as he covered her lips with his own. Sansa enthusiastically kissed Sandor back, hoping that Wintertown's transition to yellow was weeks, no months, away. Anything to give them time to move on to _other_ things.


End file.
